BEIJING, Nov 27, Reuters - Profits at China's industrial firms grew at a faster pace in October, providing a buffer for a faltering economy battered by soaring raw material prices.
Profits in October went up by 24.6% from a year earlier to 818.7 billion yuan $128.1 billion, quickening from a 16.3% gain in September.
In the first nine months of 2021, industrial firms' profits increased 42.2% year-on-year, to 7.2 trillion yuan, a slower than the 44.7% increase in the first nine months of 2021, as a result of the January-October period.
The industrial profit data covers large firms with annual revenues of over 20 million yuan from their main operations.
The price of coal in China has gone up due to the power crunch, and Beijing is trying to cool a red-hot market for coal, the country's main fuel for power generation.
An official from China's state planner last Sunday said that energy prices, including coal prices, have fallen considerably and have pushed down prices for steel, aluminium, pulp, PVC and coal chemical products.
The world's second-largest economy bounced back from last year's pandemic slump, but has since lost momentum as it grapples with a slowing of the manufacturing sector, debt problems in the property market and COVID-19 outbreaks.
In October, China's industrial output grew faster than expected, but it remained the second lowest print this year.
The industrial profit data covers large firms with annual revenues of over 20 million yuan from their main operations.